The Social Security Advocates, LLC - Latest Blog Entries

Hiring an advocate is beneficial for taking the benefits of gov social security schemes

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 08:41:00 -0400

The gov social security is given in many forms to different kinds of class. In USA the benefits of social security disability is given to disable people who are unable to work anymore. Unfortunately, people don’t know the procedure of applying for social security so instead of getting monetary relief from government, they get frustration and depression in return.

For getting the benefits of social security disability the person has to be physically or mentally unable to perform substantial gainful performance. The duration of the disability must be not less than twelve months, and the person must have worked five years continuously. Like the Social Security Disability, the Supplemental Security Income is also a gov social security scheme which is being run for the welfare of weak section of society.

So it is nice to hire a qualified social security attorney or lawyer who can help you at every front. Then the chances of winning the cases increase automatically because, the qualified advocate known each ifs and buts of the social security cases. We gov social security always provide you the best advocate for these social schemes. We have reputable panel of expert advocates who help you from the beginning to end.

You should always keep yourself prepared of all the documents which are needed before the officers of Social Security Administration. Medical certificate of the problem must be kept up to date. The symptoms of injury should be mentioned because officers may ask you about the symptoms of your problem. More Details you can visit : gov social security and ssi

Is there a time limit for how long you can collect Social Security Disability or SSI benefits?

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 09:42:00 -0400

There is no time limit for collecting social security disability or SSI disability benefits. This is largely due to the way that the social security administration views disability benefits. When you are approved to receive monthly benefits, it is only after an extensive review of both your medical records and work history has been conducted. And whether your approval was granted by a disability judge at a hearing office, or by a disability examiner who handled your case at the disability application level (or reconsideration appeal level), the process for determining your benefits was the same. That process really boils down to the conclusion that--

A) You cannot work and earn a substantial gainful living, either by doing your past work, or by attempting to do some type of other work

and

B) That your condition is both totally disabling and potentially permanently disabling.

What do we mean by "potentially permanently disabling"? Simply that social security views all approved claims as situations in which a person may always be disabled and unable to work. Nonetheless, social security also holds open the possibility that a claimant's condition may undergo medical improvement to the point that they can re-enter the workforce and earn a living. Medical improvement can only be verified through medical records and this is why all approved disability claims are scheduled to be reviewed at certain intervals.

Some cases will be reviewed each year, and some will be reviewed no sooner than every seven years. For the most part, though, the majority of cases will undergo a CDR, or continuing disability review, every three years (note: many cases that are "diaried" for three year reviews are often not actually reviewed until the fourth or fifth year, due to heavy workloads in social security field offices).

However, regardless of when a claimant's continuing disability review occurs, the fact remains that the vast majority of claims are continued (i.e. "re-approved") upon review, which simply means that very individuals ever have their disability benefits stopped due to the conclusion that they were no longer disabled.

As we said, whether or not social security can take someone off benefits at the time of their review hinges upon "medical improvement". Medical improvement is very difficult to prove on a disability case. And it is especially difficult for the social security adminisration to prove if the claimant received their disability approval from an administrative law judge at a disability hearing.

Disability judges tend to be more balanced in their decision-making, whereas disability examiners must report to unit supervisors who attempt to keep down the number of approvals (due to a culture of denial that exists in most DDS agencies). Yet disability examiners, who make the decisions on continuing disability reviews (CDRs), must abide by what was set in place by a judge if the claimant's previous approval was made by a judge.

In short, there is no time limit for how long a person can collect disability benefits. And if a person is approved to receive disability benefits, the chances are good that they will continue to receive them for the remainder of their lifetime, unless they attempt to go back to work.

all information found http://www.ssdrc.com/disabilityquestions1-84.html

Can you still Appeal if the Judge denies your Disability Claim?

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 15:08:00 -0400

Disability claims that are filed with the social security administration usually proceed in one of two different ways. Either the claimant is approved for disability benefits after filing a disability application, or the claimant will be denied and will then face the decision of A) giving up on their claim, B) filing a new claim, or C) or filing an appeal.

The first disability appeal is the request for reconsideration, a step that is practically identical to the initial claim (i.e. the disability claim). Most claims that are reviewed at the reconsideration level are denied, just as with the initial claim.

The second appeal is the hearing which is held at a federal hearing office (formerly known as the office of hearings and appeals and now known as the office of disability adjudication and review). The disability hearing primarily involves the claimant, a disability attorney, and an administrative law judge. In cases where claimants are represented, the majority of claims are won. However, claimants who do not have a disability representative are denied at up to a sixty percent rate, and even claimants who have representation are sometimes denied as well (the denial rate for represented claimants is lower, roughly 40 percent).

If you are denied by a disability judge, can you still appeal? Yes, in fact there are two levels of appeal beyond the hearing level. The first level of appeal after the hearing level is conducted at the appeals council. The appeals council is located in Falls Church, Virginia and one of its primary purposes is to evaluate decisions made by administrative law judges. When a case is sent to the appeals council, there are three separate outcomes.

1. The case can be overturned and approved. This rarely happens.

2. The appeals council can respond by stating that the request to review the decision of the administrative law judge has been denied. In other words, the appeals council is notifying the claimant (and/or their attorney) that they will do nothing.

3. The appeals council may send a notice stating that the case will be remanded. When a case is remanded, it is sent back for a second hearing. Unfortunately, this second hearing tends to be with the same disability judge who denied the case in the first place. Despite this fact, however, many remand hearings do result in approvals, particularly if the appeals council has notified the adminstrative law judge that they failed to consider a key piece of medical evidence in the disability cliamant's file.

The next appeal level that exists beyond the disability hearing level is federal district court. Relatively few cases proceed to this appeal level. Also, district court is the only level in the disability appeal system where the claimant's chosen representative must be a disability lawyer versus being a non-attorney claimant's representative (though, oddly enough, a claimant can proceed pro se, meaning unrepresented).

If the judge denies your claim, is it better to appeal or to start over with a new claim? Very often, a claimant's attorney will advise them to do both. This is because cases that are sent to the appeals council can stay there for well over a year and, very often, a claimant will receive an answer on their new disability claim before they receive a decision from the appeals council on their old claim.

all information found http://www.ssdrc.com/disabilityquestions1-55.html

How does Social Security Disability decide that you cannot work?

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 16:21:00 -0400

How does social security decide whether your can work or not? By evaluating your medical evidence, rating how limited you are, and then comparing this rating to the kind of work you did in the past. By using this sequential evaluation process, the social security administration can decide if you are capable of returning to one of the jobs you performed within the fifteen year period prior to becoming disabled, or whether or not you are capable of doing some type of other work that you have never done before.

In terms of physical RFC ratings, a claimant may be given a sedentary RFC, meaning they can only do sedentary work, a light RFC, meaning that they are considered incapable of doing anything other than light capacity work, or they may be given a medium RFC, meaning they can only do medium exertional work and nothing more.

RFC ratings can also rule out certain activities that the medical evidence of record suggests they can no longer do. For instance, an RFC may indicate that a person cannot have exposure to chemical agents, cannot use their hands for tasks requiring high dexterity, cannot tolerate heights (possibly due to vertigo or lower back problems, or seizure disorder), or cannot engage in activities that rely heavily on using a particular sense, such as sight or smell, or hearing.

In terms of mental RFC capacity ratings, the RFC determination may indicate that the claimant's capacity for work activity may be compromised by shortcomings in memory, shortcomings in the ability to attend to tasks and concentrate, shortcomings in the ability to learn new information and tasks and transmit informaton to others in the work environment, and shortcomings in the claimant's ability get along with co-workers or supervisors.

How are RFC ratings used? They are first compared to the past work of the claimant and what those individual jobs required (in terms of physical requirements and mental requirements). If the RFC rating indicates that the claimant no longer possesses the ability to do their former work, they will have passed one step of the disability evaluation process.

The next step is to evaluate whether or not the claimant has the ability to do some type of "other work" based on their age, work skills (and whether or not these skills are transferrable), and education. If the claimant, through their various RFC restrictions-limitations, is found to be unable to do their past work and is also found to be unable to do some type of other work, they will receive a social security disability award, or an SSI award, depending on which program their claim was filed in.

Disability examiners make decisions on cases at the first two steps of the social security disability system: the initial disability application, and the request for reconsideration appeal. The third step of the system (which is also the second appeal in the system) is the hearing. To get to a hearing you have to file a "request for hearing before an administrative law judge". Administrative law judges, or ALJs, of course, are the individuals who make decisions at this level of appeal. How do disability hearings and administrative law judges differ from other levels of appeal and from disability examiners? Judges for one thing tend to approve higher percentages of claims. This may be because claimants usually have disability representation in the form of a lawyer or a non-attorney disability advocate. It may also be because ALJs work somewhat independently and are free of the culture of denial that seems to be permeate the state disability agencies where disability examiners work.

all information found http://www.ssdrc.com/prem16.html

What is usually the status of your social security disability or SSI case?

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 12:32:00 -0400

If you call to get the status of your disability claim, nine times out of ten you will be told that your claim is still pending. What does this mean? Simply that your case is still being worked on (wherever it happens to be, which could, depending on the level your claim is, be the hearing office or with a disability examiner at disability determination services).

On this page, I'll answer a few basic questions regarding the status of a social security disability or SSI claim. First of all,

1. How often should you call to get the status of your claim? Frankly, you probably shouldn't need to do this very often. That's because claim processing can take quite a while. It's not uncommon for a disability application to be in processing for six months or longer. The same holds true for reconsideration appeals. And if your case is at the hearing level, either waiting for a hearing to be scheduled, or waiting for a decision to be made following a hearing, the wait could be much longer. Having said that, though, it is not a bad idea to call every 90 days or so to check the status of your claim. By doing this, you can avoid the unenviable situation in which a decision has been made and you were not aware of that fact, thus losing the opportunity to file an appeal.

Of course, if you have representation in the form of a disability attorney or a disability representative, that individual or firm should be able to quite easily obtain the current status of your claim at any given time should you request it.

2. If you call to obtain the status of your disability claim and you are told that a decision has been made, will you be told what that decision was? No, as a disability examiner, I was acutely aware of the fact that even if a decision had been made on a case, this information could not be passed on to an inquiring claimant over the phone.

From the social security administration's standpoint, the only proper way to notify the claimant was through the written notice that is mailed out. Why is this the case? Because some claims are selected for a quality control review at something called DQB (the disability quality branch).

At DQB, a claim that has been pulled for review can potentially be changed. In other words, an approval can be changed to a denial, and a denial can be changed to an approval (though it is usually the other way around). When this happens, it is because DQB reviewed the decision made by the disability examiner and found that the examiner was in error, in the application of a medical-vocational rule, or in the interpretation of the claimant's medical evidence.

all information found http://www.ssdrc.com/prem12.html

How long does a social security disability hearing last?

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 16:11:00 -0400

Disability hearings are, fairly often, somewhat short. It is not unusual to even have a hearing last as little as 10-15 minutes.

How can this be the case? If the administrative law judge presiding over the case has already, for the most part, made up his or her mind to "pay the case" (approve the claimant for disability benefits), then there is relatively little to discuss between the judge and the claimant, or the judge and the claimant's disability lawyer. The fact that disability judges have the claimant's entire file available to them prior to the hearing ( including whatever medical records and other evidence has been gathered by either the claimant or their attorney and then submitted to the hearing office) facilitates this.

How can you tell if a disability hearing may take longer? If the judge has requested the appearance of expert witnesses, such as a vocational expert or a medical expert (judges do this to provide additional expert evaluation regarding a claimant's residual functional capacity or their ability to find employment in the national economy based on their condition and work abilities), it is less likely that the hearing will be over in 10-15 minutes.

When expert witnesses are called to be present at a social security hearing, such witnesses will communicate with the judge and the claimant's disability lawyers, usually over hypothetical situations that speculate as to A) the claimant's remaining mental or physical functionality, B) the availability of certain jobs and C) the claimant's ability to perform the work involved in those jobs.

all information found http://www.ssdrc.com/disabilityquestions1-56.html

Medical Requirements for both Social Security Disability and SSI

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 08:17:00 -0400

To receive either SSD or SSI disability benefits, you must obviously be able to prove that your mental or physical condition is disabling. You prove this by the information contained in your medical records and potentially also by statements submitted by the physicians who have treated you (note: the social security administration does not attempt to obtain medical source statements, also known as RFC, or residual functional capacity, statements from a claimant's treating physicians.

However, if you go to a disability hearing before an administrative law judge and you are represented by a disability lawyer, there is a good chance that your lawyer will attempt to get such a statement to add to your case since it can often make the difference between winning or losing a claim at a hearing).

What does the social security administration mean by "disabling"? Social security does not take the viewpoint that your condition must render you completely unable to function. It does take the position, though, that your condition must be severe enough that it prevents you from able to work at any job and earn the income limit for SGA, or substantial gainful activity, for a given year. This includes working at jobs you have held in the past, and other jobs that the social security administration may consider you capable of performing based on your medical and vocational profile.

Obviously, then, winning a claim for social security disability or SSI will boil down to proving that you have certain physical and mental limitations that make it impossible for you to engage in work activity while earning SGA-level income.

Proving such limitations is based entirely on extrapolating from the information contained in your medical records, which can be a difficult task considering that most medical records and mental health records make little reference to how the condition actually affects one's ability to engage in and perform normal daily activities.

Winning a disability claim also means properly identifying a claimant's prior jobs and accumulated work skills so that it can be demonstrated that the claimant's functional limitations are not up to the task of going back to a former job or performing some type of other work for which those skills could come into play.

In either case (medical factors or vocational factors), the entire evaluation of a disability claim is largely beyond a claimant's control at the initial claim, or disability application, level. The same is true of the first appeal level, the request for reconsideration. This is because at both levels, the claim is decided by a disability examiner and neither the claimant nor the claimant's disability representative (who can be an attorney or a non-attorney) is significantly involved.

At the disability hearing level, however, the claimant, and the claimant's disability attorney if he or she has one, assume a much greater role. This is because, unlike the prior levels, the claimant will meet the decision-maker (an administrative law judge) at the hearing.

Also, the social security administration no longer gathers medical records on the claimant's behalf once the case moves beyond the first appeal, the request for reconsideration. So, at a hearing, whatever new records are presented, or whatever physician statements are presented, these will have been obtained and submitted by the claimant and/or their disability attorney.

all information found http://www.ssdrc.com/prem11.html

Eligibility for Disability Benefits as Viewed by Social Security

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 08:42:00 -0400

Even when it is determined that a claimant is not currently capable of doing their former work and is not capable of switching to some other type of work, they can still be potentially denied for social security disability or SSI if it is decided that their functional limitations will last less than a year.

This is where the definition of disability used by SSA (the social security administration) can be clearly seen to have an impact because the social security administration only awards disability benefits to individuals who have found to have total disability and permanent disability.

Total disability is thought to be a condition that is so severe that it effectively rules out the ability to perform substantial and gainful work activity of any kind (substantial and gainful work activity is where you earn at least a certain amount per month as seen on this page: the earnings limit for SSD and SSI).

Permanent disability is thought of by SSA as a disabling condition that might never improve but, for the purposes of approving a disability claim, must last at least one full year, or be projected to last one full year, at the time a disability claim has been decided.

all information found http://www.ssdrc.com/prem47.html

Disability Benefit Checklist

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 09:15:00 -0400

This checklist will help you gather the information you may need to complete the Internet Disability Benefits Application and the Disability Report. Please print the pdf version of this page to use while you gather your materials.

DISABILITY APPLICATION

Military Service discharge information (Form DD 214) for all periods of active duty.
W-2 Form (or your IRS 1040 and Schedules C and SE if self-employed) from last year.
Social Security Number(s) for your spouse and minor children.
Checking or savings account number and bank routing number, if you want Direct Deposit for your benefit checks.

DISABILITY REPORT

Name, address and phone number of someone we can contact who knows about your medical conditions and can help with your claim.
Names, addresses, phone numbers, patient ID numbers, and dates of treatment for all doctors, hospitals, and clinics.

Note: You may want to refer to any Medical Records you have.
Names of medicines you are taking and who prescribed them.

Note: You may want to have your medicine bottles available.
Names and dates of medical tests you have had and who sent you for them.
Types of jobs and dates you worked for your last 5 jobs.
Information about any insurance or workers' compensation claims you filed, such as claim number and name, address and phone number of insurance company.

all information found http://www.ssa.gov/hlp/radr/10/ovw001-checklist.htm

Social Security News

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 08:41:00 -0400

The Social Security program turned 75 years old in 2010, and has provided billions of dollars to senior citizens through the years. But unless Congress acts, Social Security is projected to run out of money by 2037. Get the latest news on attempts to modify Social Security and updates on the general solvency of the program.

In 2011, More than 58 million retirees and disabled Americans will get no increase in Social Security benefits, the second year in a row without a raise.

The Social Security Administration said Friday inflation has been too low since the last increase in 2009 to warrant an increase for 2011. The announcement marks only the second year without an increase since automatic adjustments for inflation were adopted in 1975. The first year was this year.

The cost-of-living adjustments, or COLAs, are automatically set each year by an inflation measure that was adopted by Congress back in the 1970s.

To make up for the lack of a COLA, the House will vote in November - after congressional elections - on a bill to provide $250 payments to Social Security recipients, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. But even if Pelosi can get the House to pass the proposal, it faces opposition in the Senate.

The absence of inflation will be of small comfort to many older Americans whose savings and home values still haven't recovered from the recession. Many haven't had a raise since January 2009, and they won't be getting one until at least January 2012. And the timing couldn't be worse for Democrats as they approach an election in which they are in danger of losing their House majority and possibly their Senate majority as well.

Social Security is supported by a 6.2 percent payroll tax - paid by both workers and employers - on wages up to $106,800. Because there is no COLA, that amount will remain unchanged for 2011.

The last increase in benefits came in 2009, when payments went up by 5.8 percent, the largest increase in 27 years. The big increase was caused by a sharp but short-lived spike in energy prices in 2008.

all information found http://www.cbsnews.com/2741-201_162-760.html

Taking Social Security Too Soon Can Cost You

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 08:18:00 -0400

The first baby boomers are turning 62 this year, the magical age at which you can begin to lay claim to all those payroll taxes you shelled out paycheck after paycheck your entire working life. The nation's symbolic first baby boomer, Kathleen Casey-Kirschling, a retired Maryland teacher, who was born one second after midnight on Jan. 1, 1946, has already filed online for her Social Security retirement benefits.

Nearly 80 million Americans of the baby boom generation (born from 1946 through 1964) will follow her in becoming eligible for Social Security benefits over the next two decades, a phenomenon Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue is fond of calling America's "silver tsunami."

Almost a third of the 2.9 million boomers born in 1946 plan to apply for benefits this year, like Casey-Kirschling, according to a recent MetLife Mature Market Institute survey. But class of 1946 boomers who file this year will receive a reduced benefit for life, compared with those who hold out until what the Social Security Administration deems their full retirement age—in this case, 66. (Boomers born after 1946 can find their full retirement age here.) Holding out until age 70 will bring in an even bigger monthly check.

So, for example, a boomer with a final salary of $75,000 might receive a $1,320 monthly Social Security check if he collects at age 62, according to a University of Pennsylvania Pension Research Council Working Paper by James Mahaney and Peter Carlson. If the same boomer were to delay until age 70, he would get $2,884 monthly, more than twice as much. Even after counting cost-of-living increases, the boomer who began to collect at age 62 would by age 70 probably receive only $1,637 a month.

"Waiting is a good deal if you have other means of getting by," says Laurence Kotlikoff, an economics professor at Boston University, unless you are certain you won't live a long life because of a health problem. "If you have a terminal heart condition, you want to take benefits immediately. Otherwise, in general—if you can—you want to wait as long as you possibly can to get benefits." Kotlikoff found that delaying taking the Social Security benefit can raise your standard of living in retirement by up to 10 percent. "That's like working an extra year or two," he says.

Your Social Security benefit increases by approximately 7 percent each year you delay taking it from age 62 to 66 and by 8 percent a year until age 70, Kotlikoff found. That could be a better return than retirees are getting on their investments. "You have to compare that with what your pension is giving you," says Hugo Benitez-Silva, an associate professor of economics at SUNY-Stony Brook. So, if your 401(k) or IRA is not giving you a higher return than that, you might want to start delaying Social Security and drawing down your other assets first, Benitez-Silva says.

Olivia Mitchell, a professor of insurance and risk management at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, agrees. "Delaying is better if you can afford to wait," she says. "What you should do is save more of your money upfront and use that savings to finance your early retirement and then use the [Social Security] benefit later."

But most employees show little inclination to wait before collecting Social Security. The Employee Benefit Research Institute found that 65 percent of current workers plan to retire at age 65 or younger—before most will be eligible for full Social Security benefits. And only about 32 percent of boomers born in 1946 say they will wait until age 66 or beyond to receive full benefits, MetLife reports. Those who plan to collect as soon as possible cite feeling entitled to receive their benefit, preferring to have the cash in their pocket and not the government's, needing the money now, and having a pervasive fear that the Social Security system will collapse.

"There is a widespread belief among Americans that benefits in the future are going to be lower than they are today," Benitez-Silva says. "There are justifications that claiming early may be a very rational behavior." Other retirement experts say the fear is unfounded. "I think the government would sooner default on its debt than cut benefits for someone who is currently age 62," Kotlikoff says.

But it is not only your age that matters when deciding when to claim Social Security. Retirees should also consider whether or not they intend to work, which can temporarily reduce benefits and increase taxes if their earnings are too high, and review their spouse's plans before collecting their due.

all information found http://money.usnews.com/money/retirement/articles/2008/01/09/taking-social-security-too-soon-can-cost-you

Benefits For You As A Spouse

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 16:41:00 -0400

Perhaps you may be eligible to get benefits on someone else's record--for example, on the record of your current spouse or a divorced or deceased former spouse.

If you are under full retirement age and qualify on your own record, we will pay you that amount first. But if you also qualify for a higher amount as a spouse, widow or widower on another record, you'll get a combination of benefits that equals that higher amount.

Note: If you or your spouse are full retirement age, you may have some additional options.

If your spouse is already receiving benefits when you apply online, or if you and your spouse apply online at the same time, we will also check your eligibility for benefits as a spouse. If you qualify, your application will also automatically serve as a request for spousal benefits.

Note: If you will receive benefits on someone else's Social Security record and you also will receive a pension for your work that was not covered by Social Security, your Social Security benefits may be affected by your pension.

For information about potential benefits on someone else's record, you should call our toll-free number, 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778), or visit your local Social Security office.

We can tell you what benefits you may be entitled to, after we have established your relationship to your spouse.

If you or your spouse are full retirement age

If your spouse is full retirement age, he or she can apply for retirement benefits and then request to have payments suspended. That way, you can receive a spouse's benefits and he or she can continue to earn delayed retirement credits until age 70.

If you have reached your full retirement age, and are eligible for a spouse's or ex-spouse's benefit and your own retirement benefit, you may choose to receive only spouse's benefits. If you do that, you can delay receiving your own retirement benefit until a later date to take advantage of delayed retirement credits.

If you do not qualify on your own record

If you did not work long enough to qualify, but your spouse is receiving Social Security benefits, you can

begin collecting the benefits as early as age 62. However, if the benefit begins early, the amount will be permanently reduced by a percentage based on the number of months up to your full retirement age.
qualify on your spouse's record for Medicare at age 65.
receive a benefit equal to one-half of your spouse's full retirement amount if you start receiving benefits at full retirement age.
Note: Your benefits as a spouse do not include any delayed retirement credits he or she may receive.
receive the spouse's benefit no matter what your age is if you are caring for his or her child who is also receiving benefits.

You would receive these benefits until their child reaches age 16. At that time, the child's benefits continue, but your spouse's benefits stops unless you are old enough to receive retirement benefits (age 62 or older) or survivors benefits as a widow or widower (age 60).

If you do not qualify on your own record

If you did not work long enough to qualify, but your spouse is receiving Social Security benefits, you can

begin collecting the benefits as early as age 62. However, if the benefit begins early, the amount will be permanently reduced by a percentage based on the number of months up to your full retirement age.
qualify on your spouse's record for Medicare at age 65.
receive a benefit equal to one-half of your spouse's full retirement amount if you start receiving benefits at full retirement age.
Note: Your benefits as a spouse do not include any delayed retirement credits he or she may receive.
receive the spouse's benefit no matter what your age is if you are caring for his or her child who is also receiving benefits.

You would receive these benefits until their child reaches age 16. At that time, the child's benefits continue, but your spouse's benefits stops unless you are old enough to receive retirement benefits (age 62 or older) or survivors benefits as a widow or widower (age 60).

Note: If you will receive a pension for work not covered by Social Security such as government or foreign employment, the amount of your Social Security benefits on your spouse's record may be reduced.

Benefits paid to you as a spouse will not decrease his or her retirement benefit. In fact, the value of the benefits you may receive, added to their benefits, may help your spouse decide if taking benefits sooner may be more advantageous.

If one of your spouse's children also qualifies for benefits, there is a limit to the amount we can pay family members. The total depends on their benefit amount and the number of family members who also qualify on the same record. The total varies, but generally the total amount your family can receive is about 50 to 80 percent of your spouse's full retirement benefit.

Note: If there is a divorced spouse who qualifies for benefits, it will not affect the amount of benefits you or your family may receive.

all information found http://www.socialsecurity.gov/retire2/applying6.htm

Effect of work on SSI disability benefits

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 12:54:00 -0400

What are the effects of work if I receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability benefits?

If you receive SSI, you must report your earnings as soon as you start working and we may use them to compute your new benefit rate beginning the month you start working. To figure out how your work will affect your SSI benefit, we disregard the first $65 of wages you receive the month you begin working, and we could disregard as much as $85 if you do not have any other income. After you earn more than $65 (or $85, if applicable), we will reduce your benefit $1 for every $2 you receive in that month.

This is how we would figure how much SSI you are owed (assuming you have no other income or work expenses), if you received $500 in wages for March 2011:

$500.00 gross wages minus $85 equals $415.00.
$415.00 divided by 2 equals $207.50. Therefore, $207.50 is the amount of countable earnings we will deduct from your SSI benefit.
In 2011, the maximum federal SSI benefit is $674.00 per month. We then subtract $207.50 from $674.00 equals $466.50.

We may be able to pay you more SSI if we can disregard from your income any items or services you need to help you work. We call the costs for these items impairment-related work expenses. Some examples are medicines, screen readers, service animals, counseling or therapy sessions. We can deduct the costs of these expenses from your earnings if:

You pay for the items or service yourself;
You will not be reimbursed;
You submit proof of payment; or
We approve your expense.

We deduct impairment-related work expenses from your countable earnings before we reduce your benefits $1 for every $2 you received, if:

You will not be reimbursed; or
We approve your expense.

If you are blind, we also can deduct the cost of any work expense you have. We call these blind-work expenses and they include transportation to and from work, taxes, visual and sensory aids, and attendant care services.

We deduct blind-work expenses from your countable earnings after we reduce your benefits $1 for every $2 you received.

In 2011, you can receive up to $1,433 in monthly wages before we reduce your federal SSI cash benefit to zero if you only have your own earnings and do not pay for any expenses to work. If you live in a state that pays a supplement in addition to the federal SSI benefit, you can earn even more before cash payments stop.

However, even if SSI case benefits stop, you may continue to receive SSI benefits in the form of Medicaid coverage if your wages are below certain levels, or upon considering your medical and personal attendant costs. Finally, even if your earnings are so high you lose all SSI benefits, you have 12 months from the date you were last eligible for SSI to re-contact us and re-start your SSI benefits without filing a new application.

all information found http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/483

SSDI & SSI

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 08:36:00 -0400

Social Secruity Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Insurance

The Social Security Administration administers two programs that can provide you with benefits based on your disability.

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is also referred to as Social Security Disability (SSD). The SSDI program is based on your work and the amount you paid into Social Security. In other words, the amount of your Social Security disability benefit is based on your lifetime earnings before you became disabled and not based on the severity of your disability.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments are made based on your financial need.

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is funded with Social Security taxes that are paid by wage earners, self-employed people, and employers. For you to be eligible for a Social Security disability benefit, you must have earned enough credits to be insured by Social Security.

The disability benefits paid by Social Security are payable to disabled or blind workers, adults disabled since childhood, and widows or widowers. The amount of your monthly disability payment is calculated on your Social Security earnings record.

The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program is funded by general revenues. SSI disability benefits can be paid to adults or children who are blind or disabled, meet the living arrangement requirements, and have limited income and financial resources.

The amount of your monthly SSI payment can vary up to the maximum federal benefit rate. Your payment may be supplemented by the State or can be decreased based on your countable resources and income.

Suggestions regarding Social Security disability:

If you are disabled and not able to work, you should file a claim for Social Security disability (SSD) or SSI based on your disability. You should file your disability claim immediately because it can take a long time to process your claim.

If your initial disability claim is denied, you may want to consider getting an attorney or representative that specialize in Social Security disability claims. Because of the way the Social Security disability system works, you might be approved on your initial application, or more often you may be required to file an appeal. Depending on the State in which you file, initial disability claims can be denied up to 70 percent of the time.

If you are having problems filling out your Social Security disability claims paperwork, you might want to get some assistance. A lot of people that apply for disability benefits or have to file an appeal, either don't fill out the paperwork correctly, or they don't get the paperwork filed to meet the 60 day deadline for the appeal.

Your Social Security disability claim will be evaluated based soley on your medical records. This means that you should get regular and current medical treatment. The judge or examiner will not be able to approve your disability claim if your medical records are not current. In general, you will not be approved for Social Security disability or SSI based on disability if you have not been examined by a medical provider at least once every two months. It is vital that you visit a doctor on a regular basis and have your medical records up-to-date.

If you take prescribed medications for your disability, be sure to keep your prescriptions current and take your medication as prescribed. Having a prescription for your medical condition but not taking them will often result in your claim being denied.

Try to maintain a good attitude with your caseworkers. Remember they deal with a large number of applicants on a daily basis. You will bet more cooperation and assistance by being polite rather than being difficult to work with.

If you want to get updates on the status of your disabilty claim, contact your Social Security office where you filed or the Disability Determination Services. Don't call the Social Security Administration 1-800 number.

Make sure that you always make and keep copies of anything that you submit to Social Security, the Office of Hearings and Appeals, or Disability Determination Services.

Whenever you mail something to the Social Security office, Disability Determination Services, or appeals office make sure that you follow-up with a phone call to confirm that the documents arrived.

Be prepared mentally and financially for the disability claim process to take a long time. Believe it or not, in many cases it can take up to two years to get approved for disability benefits. There really is no way to know how long it will take for your disability claim to be processed.

all information found http://www.socialsecurityinformation.info/articles/111983/SSDI-and-SSI

THE DEBT PANEL AND US

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 16:39:00 -0400

Most indicators suggest that seniors, those over 65 and under the care of social security, will not be touched by Debt Panel recommendations for the huge and hovering debt that they are charged to manage and minimize.

Those who watch carefully, however, are already aware of the encroachment on younger persons who are being told and sold the idea that they will never collect on their investment in social security. SCJ has been writing for a year now about how Social Security can be preserved for future generations; it doesn’t have to be changed in order for the program to survive. Erosion of confidence, not unlike the washing away of soil, is a sure fire indicator that something else will be washed away ere long.

Watching this Panel with a practiced eye will mean that we remain aware of just what comes down. What subtle adjustments will be made, what heavy recommendations will fall back on “entitlements,” what disfavored programs will be eliminated, what ideological mania will take over and leave older persons (we who will die anyway) in the lurch? What will come down from on high to put in peril the poor, who already suffer from enormous economic disaster? What advantages will be reinforced for the wealthy in an effort to assure them that the government is really on their side?

This is no time for idle indifference. This is a time to be alert and aware, informed and inspired, energized and motivated. Keep your representatives’ addresses, phone numbers, email contacts in a place that you can be in touch with them every time information comes down letting us know what they are up to now. Contact directly the members of the Panel, let them know you are on the watch. Don’t assume they will act in your best self interest. It has been a long time since politicians have understood that as a basic principle of their very being.

all information found http://www.seniorcitizenjournal.com/seniorcitizenjournal/seniorsthe-debt-panel-and-us/

Explaining Medicare Services

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 16:46:00 -0400

Medicare is a senior citizen service that provides medical insurance for those aged sixty-five and over. Many senior citizens are concerned about joining Medicare because it seems very overwhelming and confusing to them. It’s true that Medicare is not the simplest service to understand or predict. However, it does provide for medical services for those who may not have coverage with their employer, in the event the senior is still working or has returned to the work force following retirement. A program such as Medicare is also particularly beneficial to seniors because health tends to deteriorate as aging occurs, and more coverage may be needed.

Just like Social Security, Medicare is a senior citizen service that you pay into while you are working. For this reason, it makes sense to use something that you have already paid for. But that is only the start.

Medicare is based on an HMO (Health Maintenance Organization) system, meaning that the government pays private medical practices to see patients that are covered by Medicare. However, a member of Medicare can still use medical services that are beyond what Medicare covers. He or she will just have to pay for it out of pocket. There are also a number of different Medicare options and it’s important to understand them as well as your own needs to make sure that you select the best coverage for you.

The most basic Medicare package is actually split into three parts, giving members the most options when it comes to meeting their needs. The first package, Part A, covers hospital care only. The regulations covering Medicare Part A need to be understood prior to a hospital stay, so there aren’t any surprises.

The second is Part B, which covers medical health care, including services like doctor visits, x-ray and lab work. Some of these services have no deductible, while others do. Again, understanding coverage prevents disappointing surprises. Most Medicare recipients have supplemental Part B coverage because the Medicare share is limited.

Part D is prescription drug coverage. There are many Prescription Drug programs available in the private sector; an Internet search of Medicare Prescription Drug Programs produces thousands of hits. In the Part D program the insured typically pays a monthly premium (or it may be included in Part B coverage) as well as a co-pay for medication prescribed by a physician. Most Part D programs have ‘tiered’ coverage, meaning generic medications have a lower co-pay while newer brand medications require a higher copay.

In the regular Medicare program, the member is required to pay a small deductible before payment for covered services kicks in. The basic Medicare program does not cover all the cost of medical care, and a supplemental health insurance policy is generally a good choice to cover some or all of what Medicare does not. Supplemental policies are available in the private sector for both Part A and Part B services.

Medicare Advantage Plans offer even more coverage. These plans are fairly new and are a result of much reassessing and reorganizing by the government. Medicare Advantage is Medicare coverage that replaces the basic program and offers greater coverage, to the point that one may not need a supplemental private policy. Advantage plans feature additional coverage for hospital stays, a more comprehensive tiered prescription drug coverage, and generally lower deductible fees. Medicare Advantage is available throughout the country, and may be something readers will want to look into.

One important thing to keep in mind as you’re evaluating your options is that while there are ten standardized Medicare supplement insurance plans, Medicare Advantage plans can vary from company to company. So the benefits provided by a Medicare Advantage plan from one insurance company may be significantly different from a similarly priced plan from another.

As Medicare regulations and coverage change, SCJ will add articles that explain both changes and possible advantages or disadvantages. Stay tuned!

all information found on http://www.seniorcitizenjournal.com/social-security-medicare-and-government/explaining-medicare-services-for-senior-citizens/

Social Security Strengths

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 16:36:00 -0400

The 2011 annual report of the Social Security Trustees was published in May, 2011. The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare provides an introduction to the report summary, including highlights from the report:

“Throughout our nation’s recent recession, Social Security has demonstrated its strength by paying benefits to those who are entitled to them and functioning as the program was intended to function (emphasis added). Still, we see in the 2011 Report of the Social Security Trustees signs of the recession’s effect. But there’s still some good news for working Americans and for seniors in the trustees’ new report. Here are some of the highlights:

Social Security remains strong, despite the lingering effects of the recession, and will be able to pay full benefits for the next 25 years – until 2036.
Despite the gloom and doom rhetoric of those who want to cut Social Security to balance the budget, the program continues to run an annual surplus. That surplus is projected to be $60 billion in 2011.
The Trust Funds currently have a surplus of $2.6 trillion. This surplus is projected to grow until 2022. At that time the balance in the trust funds are projected to be $3.7 trillion.” (www.ncpssm.org)

The COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) in Social Security seems to be a significant issue now. High healthcare costs take a big chunk out of our pocketbooks; most seniors know that Medicare doesn’t cover everything. According to the Trustees’ report, in the next 70 years, our out-of-pocket costs for health care will jump from 27% of our income to 46%. Yikes!

all information found http://www.seniorcitizenjournal.com/social-security-medicare-government-articles/social-security-trustees-report-2011/

Social Security Administration Budget: An Overview

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 11:28:00 -0400

President Obama’s administration has made the Social Security Administration budget available on the Internet here. The entire federal budget and supporting documents can be found at this link. A review of the SSA budget reveals some interesting information.

It is the responsibility of the SSA to review disability claims; there is currently a backlog of disability reviews that determine ongoing payments for disability insurance and supplemental security income. Supporting documents claim every dollar the SSA spends (in the new budget) to review disability claims will save $11 in erroneous payments. The budget will support new positions that review claims to insure payments are made to individuals who qualify, thus preventing improper payments to those who do not. Additional personnel in new positions in the SSA will also enable a reduction in wait times and begin to cut some of the backlog.

The President campaigned on Social Security reform. Specifically he said he wanted to strengthen the safety net for future generations who would depend on SSA benefits. This budget is intended to increase productivity by 2% and enhance service to the public in the process.

Perhaps most encouraging to those not yet in the senior citizen stage of life is the proposal to offer workers the opportunity of ownership through voluntary personal retirement accounts. The budget proposes voluntary personal accounts funded by a portion of the worker’s Social Security payroll taxes. Account contributions will be capped at four percent of Social Security taxable earnings up to a $1,400 limit in 2013, increasing by $100 more than the average-wage growth each year through 2018. (http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2009/ssa.html)

Details of the SSA budget and supporting documents may be found on the above link. SCJ readers are encouraged to do their own research on budgetary issues via the many available Internet sites which provide documentation for the gamut of financial issues that effect the lives of seniors.

all information found http://www.seniorcitizenjournal.com/social-security-medicare-and-government/social-security-administration-budget-an-overview/

Social Security Strategies : How benefits are being calcualated

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 08:26:00 -0400

To qualify for benefits, you must work at least 10 years with annual earnings meeting a minimum amount. For 2009, you must earn $4,360 or more to qualify for a full year of Social Security earnings credit.

To calculate the monthly benefit available at full retirement age, the Social Security Administration adjusts every year of earnings for wage growth. The SSA essentially accounts for wage inflation by adjusting each year of earnings to a wage level you would earn when you’re age 60. (An additional bonus is that earnings made after age 60 aren’t adjusted downward.)

After adjusting each year for wage growth, the SSA uses the 35 highest years of earnings to calculate an average monthly earnings amount, which is called the Average Indexed Monthly Earning (AIME). If you have worked fewer than 35 years, the SSA will factor in annual earnings of $0 to complete the 35-year calculation. Once you hit 35 years of earnings, each year you work can replace a lower-earning year, which increases your AIME.

The final step is to apply a weighted average formula to the AIME. By doing this, the SSA makes the initial dollars you earned worth more. This benefits lower-income earners more as each additional dollar earned becomes less significant in the benefits calculation. In 2009, the first $744 of AIME gets a 90 percent weighting, while any dollars earned above the $744 level were weighted somewhere between 15 percent and 32 percent.

Here are two examples, with both people at full retirement age. John’s AIME is $2,000, and Jane’s is $6,000. Although Jane’s AIME is 66.7 percent 200 percent higher than John’s, her monthly benefit will not be 66.7 percent 200 percent higher than John’s due to the weighting formula. In fact, her monthly benefit will only be 48.8 percent 95.4 percent higher than John’s.

Finally, no matter how much money you earn or the number of years you pay Social Security taxes, there’s a cap on the monthly benefit. For 2009, the maximum benefit at full retirement age is $2,323 per month.

all information found http://moneywatch.bnet.com/investing/blog/wise-investing/social-security-strategies-how-are-my-benefits-calculated/1062/?tag=content;col1

Recession Puts a Major Strain On Social Security Trust Fund

Thu, 08 Sep 2011 16:43:00 -0400

With unemployment rising, the payroll tax revenue that finances Social Security benefits for nearly 51 million retirees and other recipients is falling, according to a report from the Congressional Budget Office. As a result, the trust fund's annual surplus is forecast to all but vanish next year -- nearly a decade ahead of schedule -- and deprive the government of billions of dollars it had been counting on to help balance the nation's books.

While the new numbers will not affect payments to current Social Security recipients, experts say, the disappearing surplus could have considerable implications for the government's already grim financial situation.

The Treasury Department has for decades borrowed money from the Social Security trust fund to finance government operations. If it is no longer able to do so, it could be forced to borrow an additional $700 billion over the next decade from China, Japan and other investors. And at some point, perhaps as early as 2017, according to the CBO, the Treasury would have to start repaying the billions it has borrowed from the trust fund over the past 25 years, driving the nation further into debt or forcing Congress to raise taxes.

The new forecast is fueling calls for reform of the Social Security system from conservative analysts, who say it underscores the financial fragility of a system that provides a primary source of income for millions of Americans.

"It suggests we better get working on Social Security and stop burying our heads in the sand," said Sen. Judd Gregg (N.H.), the senior Republican on the Senate Budget Committee. "The Social Security trust fund, though technically in balance, is going to put huge pressures on taxpayers very soon."

Many liberal analysts reject the notion that Social Security needs fixing, arguing that the system is projected to fully support payments to beneficiaries through 2041 -- so long as the Treasury repays its debts. But they agree that the news is not good for the federal budget.

"This is not a problem for Social Security, it's a problem for fiscal responsibility," said Christian Waller, a public policy professor at the University of Massachusetts at Boston and a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. He said the new estimates would force President Obama and his budget director, Peter Orszag, "to stay on track in what they have set out to do, and that is rein in deficits."

The CBO, Congress's nonpartisan budget scorekeeper, released its most recent estimates for the Social Security trust fund last week as part of its final budget projections for the fiscal year that begins in October.

The trust fund has long taken in more in revenue from payroll taxes and other sources than it pays out in benefits. Last August, the CBO predicted that surplus would exceed $80 billion this year and next, then rise to around $90 billion before slowly evaporating by 2020. But the rapidly deteriorating economy -- particularly the loss of more than 4 million jobs -- has driven those numbers much lower much faster, with the surplus expected to hit $16 billion this year and only $3 billion next year, then vanish entirely by 2017.

CBO is not the official arbiter of the trust fund's health; that task falls to the Social Security trustees, a panel of Cabinet secretaries and others who are expected to issue a new report later this spring. In his budget, Obama predicted that the trust fund surplus would hit $30 billion this year, according to Mark Lassiter, a spokesman for the Social Security Administration.

But that number, too, is far less than the $80 billion the trustees had forecast for 2009. In addition to declining revenues, Lassiter said the system is likely to incur higher expenses due to big jumps in new retirement and disability claims. Both are expected to rise by at least 12 percent this year compared with 2008.

"There are some people who are, in fact, delaying retirement" because the plunging stock market took a huge bite out of their retirement accounts, Lassiter said. "But the stronger trend is that people who are losing a job are looking for other sources of income. And if you're of retirement age, you're going to go ahead and file for Social Security benefits."

Though Obama has pledged to address the precarious financial situation of Social Security, the administration currently has no plans to do so. Under pressure from congressional Democrats who argued that Social Security should not be at the top of the new administration's agenda, the White House last month dropped a proposal to name a task force to reexamine the program.

During the campaign, Obama proposed applying payroll taxes to annual earnings over $250,000 help fund Social Security after the surplus vanishes. With the new numbers, some analysts said, the president might be forced to step up the timetable.

"Over the past 25 years, the government has gotten used to the fact that Social Security is providing free money to make the rest of the deficit look smaller," said Andrew Biggs, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. "Now they've essentially got to pay their own way, at least a little more fully.

"Instead of Social Security subsidizing the rest of the budget," he said, "the rest of the budget will have to subsidize Social Security."

all information found http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/30/AR2009033003291.html